Development and Validation of the Professional Fit Scale in Nursing

This study aims to develop the Professional Fit Scale in Nursing and to test psychometric analyses.

This is a scale development and validation study.

This study was conducted in three phases: (1) creation of the items, (2) preliminary assessment of the items, and (3) assessment of the psychometric properties of the scale. The scale was tested using construct validity and reliability analyses after the assessment of content and face validity in accordance with the scale development guidelines. The data were collected between May and September 2021 from nurses working in Istanbul (n = 720).

The final scale included 56 items and 9 subscales, explaining 68.06% of the total variance. CFA showed acceptable fit (χ²/df = 2.57; GFI = 0.90; CFI = 0.90; RMSEA = 0.05; RMR = 0.07). Factor loadings ranged 0.592-0.922. Convergent (CR > 0.70; AVE > 0.50) and discriminant validity (MSV < AVE; ASV < MSV) were supported. Internal consistency was high (α = 0.97), and test-retest reliability was strong (ICC = 0.99).

The scale, which was developed, evaluates the professional fit of nurses in nine fields: professional responsibility, interpersonal relations and care, problem solving, coping with stress, professional skills, continuous development, working conditions, professional achievement and professional autonomy.

Assessing the professional fit of nurses can contribute to the effective management of the healthcare workforce, increase the quality of nursing services and patient safety, which in turn may increase patient and community satisfaction.

The scale is the first tool to measure nurses' professional fit. The scale demonstrates strong reliability, validity and psychometric properties. The developed scale can be used in identifying job mismatches and implementing improvements, career planning and shaping human resources policies.

Patients or members of the public were not included in the study.